(Seoul, December 23, 2016) -- The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), which comprises over 50 human rights organizations from around the world, welcomes and appreciates the Resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), which was adopted by consensus at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 19, 2016.

The Resolution condemns "the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;" it expresses profound concern at gross patterns of human rights violations, some of which constitute crimes against humanity.

The Resolution provides support for the group of independent experts empaneled by the UN Human Rights Council. Perhaps most significantly, the Resolution calls upon the UN Security Council to hold DPRK officials accountable, including referral to the International Criminal Court.

Phil Robertson, Deputy Director of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, noted that, "The Resolution expresses a collective outrage about widespread and persistent human rights violations from the presence of gulag-style forced labor camps to the severe limitations to the social and cultural rights of ordinary citizens. The authorities of North Korea should recognize these resolutions show the DPRK is one of the worst human rights abusing regimes in the world today.”

Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, noted that, "Even though one of the most severe floods in North Korean history took place in late August, causing great suffering to several hundreds of people, Kim Jong-Un carried out the fifth nuclear test only one week later, illustrating the regime’s utter lack of concern for the wellbeing of the North Korean people. This is a regime which completely fails to protect or respect basic rights, violating virtually every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and most particularly it is a regime that completely denies any form of freedom of __EXPRESSION__ or freedom of religion or belief.”

Eunkyoung Kwon, ICNK’s Secretary General, promised that ”ICNK and its constituent human rights groups will spare no effort to ensure the outrage contained in the Resolution is transformed into concrete action that will hold DPRK officials to account before the ICC and the North Korean people.”

The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea is a joint effort of over 40 human rights groups worldwide that seeks to protect the human rights of North Koreans and to hold the Pyongyang government accountable for its abuses and violations of the human rights of the North Korean people.

Members and supporters of the Coalition include:

Advocates International Global Council

Asia Justice and Rights

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances

Asian Human Rights & Humanity Association of Japan

Burma Partnership (Thailand)

Christian Lawyers Association for Paraguay

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (USA)

Conectas (Brazil)

Council for Human Rights in North Korea (Canada)

Freedom House (USA)

NK Watch (ROK)

Free North Korea Radio (ROK)

Han Voice (Canada)

HH Katacombs (ROK)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Without Frontiers (Belgium)

Inter-American Federation of Christian Lawyers

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

COMJAN (Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea)(Japan)

Japanese Lawyers Association for Abduction and Other Human Rights Issues in North Korea

Jubilee Campaign (USA)

Justice for North Korea (ROK)

Kontras (Indonesia)

Liberty in North Korea - LiNK (USA)

Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (Japan)

Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights (ROK)

NK Intellectual Solidarity (ROK)

No Fence (Japan)

North Korea Freedom Coalition

Odhikar (Bangladesh)

Open North Korea (ROK)

People In Need (Czech Republic)

PSCORE (ROK)

PSALT NK (Prayer Service Action Love Truth for North Korea)

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (USA)

SARAM - Für Menschen in Nordkorea (Germany)

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (USA)

The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea (Japan)

Students Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea (ROK)

World Without Genocide (USA)

Young Defectors' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (ROK)

Yuki Akimoto, Burmainfo (Japan)

Tomoharu Ebihara

David Hawk, Visiting Scholar, Columbia University, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, and author of Hidden Gulag

Ken Kato, Director, Human Rights in Asia (Japan)

Tomoyuki Kawazoe, Representative, Kanagawa Association for The Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea / Member, Reporters Without Borders